The light in the dark
by 3laxx
Summary: Out of a sudden burst of adrenaline he took off after her, following her through the schoolyard outside after the akumatized chemist student and the two beloved heroes Ladybug and Chat Noir.
1. Chapter 1

Okay, sooooooo  
This is gonna be a speed upload since I don't wanna force 12740 words into one single chapter xD  
(And to make the time jumps more logical)  
It's just... I mean, I went through my documents folder and I found this super old work that I wrote 2 years and 4 months ago. This was during the beginnings of me writing in English and not my motherlanguage anymore. So uh, don't be too hard with 17 year old me xD  
I intentionally left it in its original state for the fun of it x)  
First chapter now, the rest later x)

* * *

Nino called after her, terrified. But she was not going to listen.

"Wait! Alya, no, do not go the-…"

"I've got to! I gotta record this! Be back in no time!"

"Alya, damnit! It's dangerous!"

Nino was on the verge of tears as he saw her back turning to him and he knew he had lost her.

"ALYA, NO!"

Out of a sudden burst of adrenaline he took off after her, following her through the schoolyard outside after the akumatized chemist student and the two beloved heroes Ladybug and Chat Noir.

The boy in the blue shirt rapidly blinked away his tears, trying to regain his vision. Alya was already down the stairs, her phone out and recording, running to the side to take cover behind the railing of the stairs. Nino followed her suit, as Chat Noir cried out.

"Nino, stop right there!"

He stubbornly continued to run in order to get Alya and yank her back into the cover of the school. He had to get her to safety. Chat Noir appeared in front of him, feline green eyes flashing with anger.

"I said _stop!_ Get right back into the school, _now!_ "

Nino gulped but didn't back away.

"I have to get to her! Alya!"

Chat shook his head and shoved him back up the stairs, trusting Ladybug to deal with the akuma at the moment.

"Get back there! _I'm_ gonna get your friend! Now _go!_ "

Before Nino could answer, or even turn to the school to get back in, he heard an explosion. Next to Chat Noir's body fire and smoke engulfed the stairs.

Right… Right where Alya had been, as Nino had last seen her.

"No! NO! _FUCK NO!_ "

Chat held back Nino as he turned, shock written over his masked face. Ladybug, jumping out of the smoke, coughing heavily, turned to Chat, immediately realizing something terrible must've happened.

The akuma yelled in frustration as she yet again mixed together some ingredients from her belt, throwing them at Ladybug as she yet again jumped away. Nino couldn't move.

Alya, his friend, his crush, was nowhere to be seen.

Chat once again engaged into the fight, determined to find the akumatized object and destroy it. Nino had reached the still heavily fogged area at the bottom of the stairs as Ladybug purified the little purple butterfly, leaving a white little bug to fly away innocently.

He heard her muttering her signature words, "Bye bye, little butterfly", before turning to Nino.

Almost with a whisper, she threw her lucky charm in the air, letting the cleansing light fix the stairs and the schoolyard, leaving behind a clear day, without any trace that there had been a fight.

But one.

One remained, now visible where it had been hidden under the smoke from before.

Alya.

While Chat went to get the exhausted student who had been the victim of Hawkmoths rage, Ladybug and Nino froze in place as they saw the girl lying there, next to the stairs, motionless. He didn't care that Ladybug turned on her heel, escaping with shaking shoulders.

As the boy stood next to her, he realized there was blood.

Alyas head was covered in blood and dust, same went with her body. He kneeled down to her and carefully took her limp body in his arms. Her head rolled around until he steadied her against his shoulder, not being able to hold back his tears anymore.

Marinette was suddenly kneeling in front of him, hugging him and Alya tightly while sobbing hard, her words trembling, her tears leaving wet marks on Alyas ripped blouse.

Adrien had a hand on his shoulder and was calling the ambulance.

But Nino didn't care. Nothing could draw away his attention from his girl, from his Alya.

As the ambulance arrived, Nino didn't let go. He held her hand as they lifted her onto the litter, getting her to the car as fast as they could.

They even let him and Marinette come with them, being her closest friends. But he guessed they needed them more for contacting Alyas mum.

Nino noticed Adrien softly taking Marinette's hand right before they climbed into the car, assuring her that he would be at the hospital as soon as he could. She nodded, not turning red or stuttering for once, just being grateful that he wanted to be a supportive friend.

Marinette held Nino's gaze the whole time while they were getting to the hospital. He touched his cheeks, knowing they were as wet as Marinette's and Adrien's from tears. The emergency doctors around them spoke fast, nervous, tense. The friends knew, this was bad.

What happened to Alya was bad.

As they reached the hospital they were forced to wait in the hall while Alya was rushed to the operation room.

Exhausted and scared, Marinette slumped into one seat of the waiting room, Nino falling into the next.

"Nino, I-…"

"Don't. It's _not_ your fault. You were probably hiding somewhere, staying safe."

"But I could've looked out for her. I could've prevented her from going out-…"

He sighed, looking rather sleepy but he knew, he could never close an eye now while Alya's life was still in danger.

"Marinette, you did the right thing. You stayed safe, as Ladybug instructed us to do. But that stupid girl-…"

"Stupid?"

"She's old enough to decide that it's too dangerous. At least I am, everyone else was. But no, she had to run outside-…"

She understood why he was saying these things. He felt like he was guilty but also wanted to make himself feel better by scolding her. While he still could, she figured.

Quickly she found herself trembling again, biting back hot tears.

"W-We need to contact her parents. And ours."

Nino nodded, standing up and going to another corner of the room, to talk privately and to give her some privacy too.

As she looked on her phone she swallowed hard. Two unread messages of Alya. And six of Adrien. She blinked away the tears forming in her eyes for the thousandth time today. She decided to ignore the text messages first to contact Alyas parents. Nino had left that to her, she assumed, because he apparently spoke to his dad right now.

When Marinette dialed the number she felt Tikki pressing at her leg through the purse, giving her support. Thankfully she laid a hand over her purse, knowing that Tikki would feel it too.

As the voice of Alyas mum echoed through her phone, Marinette's voice broke into a sob. Of course, the woman on the other end was alerted and kept showering her with questions. Why did she call? Was it something that happened to Alya? To her younger sisters? Had there been an emergency?

"Mrs. Césaire, th-there was an akuma attack at our school. A-And Alya-…"

"Which hospital?"

Marinette only remembered vaguely as she told Mrs. Césaire where Alya had been taken, only remembered half of her conversation with her parents on the phone. Her Mum would be coming over, but only in an hour because the bakery couldn't be left alone. Marinette had calmed her Mum, saying she was taken care of and physically fine, she wouldn't have to worry.

Tikki opened the purse that was still hanging around Marinette's shoulders, giving her a sympathetic look. The bluenette smiled forcefully and softly nodded, patting Tikkis head. The little Kwami smiled back, closing the purse again, in order to not be seen.

Nino had talked to his parents now and sat beside her again, running a soothing hand over her back as she read Alyas messages. She had written that she couldn't find her but was with Nino. It had become a habit of Alya to always write Marinette where she was when an akuma attack took place. She had also written her that she was trying to get some recording material too. That was two minutes before the explosion, at 16:07.

Marinette let her tears flow freely now as she checked Adrien's messages.

He had informed her that he would take care of the situation in school and come to the hospital as fast as he could. He had kept texting her about school and the message before his last text was that he was being picked up at school by his driver to come by. The last one had just been two words.

 **Adrien:** Stay strong.

Marinette let out a sob and leaned back against Nino's arm to support her. Quickly she showed him the messages of his best friend and Nino nodded. That's the Adrien he knew. She didn't wait long for her answer and it was even shorter than his.

 **Marinette:** Hurry.

Adrien's stomach turned as she finally responded to his texts. Seeing this single word made him want to throw up. The last time he had seen her she had been crying. Crying wasn't even the right word. She had looked frantic. Her body shaking with silent but powerful and probably painful sobs.

In that moment, right before the doors of the car closed right before him, he knew, she was something else.

She was someone special, not like Ladybug to him, but-… Somehow different but also the same.

Plagg peeked out of his jacket, for the first time not asking for cheese after a transformation. He made sure Adrien's driver was oblivious to the two of them and flew up to Adrien's cheek, giving him a little hug. Adrien smiled a little, laying his hand over the little Kwami.

Without another word but with a last encouraging look Plagg hid in his jacket again, because the car was pulling over at the hospital.

He was confused about Ladybug and Marinette, to say the least, but nothing of that mattered as he climbed out the car and ran into the big building. He already heard her sobs, making his heart race.

Nino must've heard Adrien's footsteps because he came running out of the waiting area, hugging him tightly. Adrien hugged him back, loosening his grip after a few seconds because he felt Nino wanting to part. He looked in his best friend's face knowing he found the right one to be his bro.

Adrien placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, smiling slightly. The message was clear.

 _We're going through this together, bro._

Marinette was another situation though. As soon as Nino led him to her seat, she stood up and threw herself in his opened arms, sobbing violently.

He bowed down a bit so she could stand on her feet and didn't need to be uncomfortably stretching to hug him. He simply let her bury her wet face in the crook of his neck and held her tight, rocking her ever so softly as quiet words came out of his mouth, trying to calm her.

"Everything will be alright.", he said, "Alya's strong."

She sobbed against him but he didn't care, as long as she felt comfortable.

Finally, after a few minutes, as his back began to ache, he lifted her slightly, sitting down with her in his lap, the bluenette still clinging to his neck.

He felt one hand of hers slip into his hair and he smiled softly, remembering that he did the same when he had been hurt and his father was hugging him close while his mother had nursed his injured knee or elbow, whatever it had been. In fact, it felt calming for him just as much as for her, having her run one hand through his hair. Maybe it was the cat in him that needed this kind of affection, maybe it was just a warm memory of a once loving family living up in him that made him smile a bit in relaxation.

Carefully he took the string of her purse, removing it from her shoulder and laying it down gently on the seat next to him. Neither of the three teenagers noticed a black Kwami sneaking out of Adrien's jacket, flying to the purse. They also didn't notice another red and black spotted Kwami opening the purse, letting the black one inside quietly.

Later, a slightly different and older version of Marinette rushed through the doors, quickly followed by Nino's parents. Adrien assumed it was her mother, because as soon as she saw her daughter cradled against him, she sprinted towards them, sitting down next to him, soothing Marinette's hair.

She spoke French with a little Chinese accent, he noticed, as she thanked him for taking care of her daughter. He shrugged it off, making tiny movements, to not startle awake Marinette, who had promptly fallen asleep of exhaustion on his lap. Her mother kissed her daughter's cheek and mumbled calming, soothing words into her ear. As she leaned in that close, Adrien smelled bakery and warmth. Maybe a bit more of lemon. Marinette smelled, as her mother, like bakery, but had more of a strawberry scent to it. Maybe it was different shampoos they used.

His mind began wandering around because of sleepiness, dizziness and exhaustion.

He tried to stay awake, but when Marinette began to smile in her sleep and stroke his hair again, Adrien was already fast asleep.

* * *

He couldn't recall Alya's mum nor Alya's younger sisters joining them. He also did not remember Marinette's Father coming here. Or someone falling asleep leaned against him.

As he awoke again it dawned to him that he must've slept nearly two hours by now. Marinette was still on his lap, but his legs were propped up on another chair so that he leant back a bit more. He also had a pillow behind his back now, something he also couldn't quite recall someone putting there. With a quick glance, he made sure that Marinette still slept.

He felt another head against his. Soon he recognized Nino, by carefully letting his gaze wander next to him in order to find something familiar (which had been the blue shirt). But he also noticed Nino holding Marinette's waist with his arm. He shouldn't feel jealous, he knew it.

But Nino's hand there, his best friend's hand on his princess' hips, was unsettling.

Still sleepily he held Marinette closer to him, closer than she already was. And slowly he made sure his arm was between Nino's and Marinette.

Satisfied, he felt her snuggle up against him and he once again laid his cheek on her head, balancing Nino's head against his while doing so. And just like this, his eyes shut close once again.

* * *

Adrien blinked once, twice, before letting out a groan and holding Marinette tighter again.

"Don't you worry, lad.", he heard someone say, "Nobody's gonna steal her from you."

Startled but still groggy he tried to make out who said that. A really big man stood right in front of him, gazing down at the young model with warm, amused, brown eyes.

"Hello, lad. Name's Tom Dupain. Baker. Father of the young beauty in your arms."

Adrien blushed and lowered his head, not meeting the elder's gaze.

"I-… I'm sorry I'm keeping your daughter from you, s-sir…", he felt like the words were glue that came dripping out of his mouth. Carefully he checked, if they were alone in the waiting room and thankfully they were because that could've been awkward.

Mr. Dupain grinned down at him, shaking his head.

"It's alright. She's going to be fine.", he seemed to have noticed Adrien's gaze, "Don't worry, the parents of the young lad next to you have taken the three girls of Mrs. Césaire to their home and are babysitting them. Said, Nino could stay here, after all, they know how he's feeling for Alya."

Adrien nodded.

"And-… Mrs. Cheng and Mrs. Césaire?"

"They have gone off with one of the doctors. Sabine's supporting Marlena. They left to see Alya."

"A-Alya-…", Adrien croaked surprised, trying to sit up but he was stopped by not only Marinette still sleeping in his arms but also Nino's head which was still leaned against his.

"Easy there, lad. Alya's-… Well, fine wouldn't be exactly the right word. She's resting right now. Doctor said something about an artificial coma."

"H-how is she-… Doing?"

"She's outta danger. She'll – hopefully – be okay again sometime soon. Had a pretty threatening injury in her brain but the doctors managed, they said."

"How much-… How much did we miss?"

"Just about nothing. Only the mother, Marlena, was allowed to be with Alya, Sabine's still not allowed into the room. I slept here for a bit too. And well, it's 23:46 now."

"J-Just waiting?"

"Yeah. Pretty boring. Nobody's allowed to get to the girl but her mother so you didn't miss a single thing."

"We've slept for almost five hours now?"

"You did. Mari and Nino are still out cold."

Protectively he moved his hand that had been resting on her hip to her shoulder, slightly squeezing her.

"As I said before, lad, nobody's gonna steal her from you. Although one could almost assume you feared just that, as tightly as you had been holding her in your sleep.", Adrien could see the amused smirk in his eyes, the same one he once had seen in his father's, many years ago.

Adrien smiled, running a thumb across her cheek.

"She's truly something special, sir."

"Oh yes, she is alright.", her father gave him a nod, "Just you go and try to hurt her."

Adrien felt his little grin fade and looked at her father with all honesty and seriousness his tired face could possibly hold.

"I would never."

* * *

Half an hour later Nino woke up. Adrien had never seen his friend this tense, ready to jump at anything to either kill or hug it every second, even though his friend looked about as tired as he had been when he had DJ'd three whole days.

Adrien tried not to look as satisfied as he felt, when Nino removed his arm from Marinette's hip.

"Hey bro, you okay? You look horrible."

Nino snickered but it was no amusement in it.

"I'm alright, thanks bro. How's-… How's Alya?"

Tom answered instead of Adrien, so he took the opportunity and moved his hand on Marinette's shoulder to her hair, stroking it gently. He felt her letting out a relaxed breath and slightly smiled at this. She was just too adorable.

As he looked up at the clock he was mildly surprised. It was almost half past midnight. That meant they were here now for round about five and a half hours, five of which he had slept.

He had desperately needed the sleep because he had been awake the whole night before, trying to finish the homework he couldn't do while he was Chat Noir, keeping Paris save doing patrols with his lady. He had gotten only four and a half hours of sleep that night, then he had to go to school and he stayed there because of a project in their class, until the akuma attacked.

Marinette hadn't looked anymore awake than he had been.

He assumed she had to work on the homework as well, not getting much sleep either.

The girl in his arms shivered lightly as a door opened and sent a blow of cold night air through the room. A new patient was carried through the front doors but Adrien didn't care. He lowered his head, pressing his cheek against her forehead, trying to protect her from the cold air. The doors closed and he relaxed again as she did too. Marinette pulled her knees a little closer and he kissed her head before he even realized what he was doing.

He smiled down at her, not noticing Mr. Dupain's glare and Nino's smirk.

Marinette smiled, burying her face further in the crook of his neck. A few moments later he felt her eyelashes brush against his skin.

"Hey Marinette. You awake?", he whispered, just loud enough for her to hear but Nino and Mr. Dupain were oblivious to the two of them anyways.

He felt her growing stiff in his embrace but quickly brushed her hair with a soft hand again, hoping to calm her down. He knew she felt uneasy around him, always blushing and stuttering, even though he didn't know why. So, he enjoyed her relaxing in his presence for once. He didn't want to scare her so she would jump right off his lap. Besides, he felt it would be pretty cold when she stood up after having her on top of him for hours now.

"A-A-Adrien-…?!"

"Yeah.", he breathed back, "But don't freak out, alright?"

She leaned back a bit, her eyes searching for his. Green met Blue and she gasped.

"Y-You-… M-Me-… Oh my g-gosh, I'm s-so sorry, I-… I didn't k-know what c-came over me a-as I-…"

"No, it's alright.", he smiled, "Just don't stand up, please. It's warm and comfortable and-…", his voice trailed off, leaving him behind with a red mark of embarrassment over his cheek.

She laughed quietly, obviously embarrassed herself, but laid back on his chest again.

"Th-thank you f-for holding m-m-me…", she muttered under her breath and he grinned.

"I quite enjoyed it, actually…"

"J-Just don't let Chloé see us like th-that.", Marinette laughed once again, blushing furiously.

"I won't, don't worry.", he rested his cheek against her forehead, closing his eyes. Suddenly he felt her shifting and straightening up, catching his gaze once again. She looked terrified.

"What about Alya?! O-Oh my god I-I totally-…"

"She's… Resting right now."

Eventually her father and Nino looked over to them and realized that Marinette was finally awake so they joined them in the conversation.

"D-Dad? How is she-…?"

Her dad softly stroked her cheek, smiling.

"They said she'll be fine. She's in an artificial coma right now but they said she'll be okay when she wakes up."

"What?! A-Alya is in an-…?!", Adrien felt her tightening her grip around his neck and her other hand clutching on his shirt. He saw tears welling up in her eyes.

"It's okay, it's alright…", he instantly whispered in her ear, gently caressing her shoulder, "Alya's alive and that's all that matters now. She'll be alright, she'll live. That's good news."

Marinette leaned her head on his chin, asking for support he was more than willing to give.


	2. Chapter 2

Told you I'd upload all 5 chapters today x)  
Alright, still, it's an old story, nothing has been changed, I'm just uploading  
With that being said, here it is!  
Enjoy~

* * *

At two in the morning they were finally shushed out of the hospital. Mrs. Césaire would stay with her daughter but Marinette's mum wouldn't let them wait here all night, so she had contacted Nino's parents, telling them she would take Nino back with her to the Dupain-Cheng household. He would be sleeping in Marinette's room.

Adrien was not approving that. Of course, he trusted Nino and of course he knew that they were just really good friend, almost like siblings. Still he found it unsettling that Nino was allowed to stay at Marinette's room, her house, but he would have to return home.

Again, neither of the people in the room noticed Marinette's purse opening, revealing a little black Kwami flying back into Adrien's jacket. He soon felt Plagg moving on his side, relieved to know now he was still there.

As Marinette stood up, taking her purse and looking inside it for a brief second, then left to talk with her father, Adrien quickly made his way to Mrs. Cheng.

"Mrs. Cheng?", he carefully asked. She turned to him and smiled.

"Yes, dear?"

"C-Could I stay with you too? It's not like I can't get home so it's fine if you don't want me to but since I wanted to make sure Marinette was okay and I don't really wanna go home, I-…"

She suddenly grinned conspiratorially and nudged his arm.

"You like her, eh?"

Adrien heard Plagg snickering and desperately hoped it was only audible to him.

He tried his hardest not to blush, but failed to hinder a slight pink line to appear on his cheeks. Politely smiling he nodded, being the well-mannered boy, he was.

"Well, I do like her a lot, yes. But we're just friends…"

Marinette' mother nodded understandingly but did not believe him. Instead of asking him more questions about that topic though she picked up his opening question.

"And how do we convince your father that it's okay to stay with us, young man?"

Adrien's face darkened, his small grin faded.

"I'll take care of that. Besides, my father's out of town, so I'll contact Nathalie. I just need you to agree on me coming with you."

She nodded and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"And if you need any help convincing her, make sure to come to me, yes?"

He nodded, smiling relieved.

"Thank you so very much."

In return the older bluenette snickered, leaving him irritated.

"Oh, just make sure Marinette doesn't hear of your call. I won't tell her anything and then we'll surprise her, sound good? I think, my daughter needs a pleasant surprise after all that…"

Adrien nodded again, then he pulled out his phone. As he dialed Nathalie's number his fingers started to tremble. He was a little nervous, after all he had been missing all evening and was now calling at two in the morning. But if she agreed that would be the first time, he slept over somewhere else, and that made him so thrilled he forgot about his guilt.

"Nathalie Sancoeur, speaking."

"Hey Nathalie…"

"Adrien. Where were you? You were missing fencing. And what are you doing, calling me at such a time?"

"I know, Nathalie… I-… Uh, a friend of mine got injured badly while an akuma attack at our school and I'm currently leaving the hospital."

"You what?!", although she was mostly reserved and quiet most of the time, there were a few things that upset her. Adrien saying something like that, for example, "You have been at a hospital this whole time?! With an akuma attacking the place you were at?! You're coming back home right now. I'll personally get you."

"Wait, Nathalie! Wait, I-… I actually got offered to spend the night at a friend's house. The best friend of the injured student is really shaken up and I wanna make sure, she-…"

"'She'?! You're not staying at a girl's house. This discussion is over."

"Nathalie, stop. My friend is really sad and shocked. I can't leave her like that. Her best friend lays in an artificial coma and she clung to me all evening, crying her eyes out. I am _not_ coming home, I am staying with her. Thanks for the offer to get me, but no thanks. Oh, and my father will not hear of this."

"You have no right to speak to me like that."

"And you're not my mother, so you have no right to act like you are."

"I have to look after you, so I'm the one making decisions. Not you. You're coming home. Now."

"Look, Nathalie, _I_ decide I can't leave her after she almost lost her best friend. So stay where you are, I'm going with her. Just-… Just tell my father I stayed at home. Please, Nathalie! We'll both get what we want: no trouble."

He heard her sigh.

"… Just be back here before your father is, Adrien."

"But-… father's staying away all week."

"We'll talk about this later. Preferably tomorrow. Just don't get yourself into trouble we both don't want."

"Oh, thanks Nathalie! Thank you very much! I'll be home by lunch tomorrow!"

He beamed when he hung up and put the mobile back in his pocket.

Plagg peeked out of his jacket again.

"Will I be getting cheese then?", he finally asked, after being silent for several hours. Adrien had almost been worried for his little Kwami. He laughed, patting Plagg's head.

"I'll make sure of that, yes."

Quietly cheering, Plagg hid again.

Casually walking over to the waiting car of the Dupain-Chengs he felt like he was finally free, just for once. He opened the door and let himself slip in the seat next to Marinette, who was looking at him rather surprised.

"Everyone ready?"

"Yep!", Adrien said, fastening his seat belt, "Ready!"

"A-Are we bringing you h-home? I-… I thought you had a driver, who-…"

"He'll be staying with us, darling.", her mother said from the front of the car.

Marinette blushed furiously and leaned back in her seat. Nino gave him a fist bump right before her chest and cheered.

"Bro, that's so cool! What is that, your first sleep over now? Awesome! I knew your old man still had a heart."

"Actually…", Adrien smirked, "Nathalie just became cool. I stood up for myself and she let me, my father is out of town."

"Bro, seriously, that's awesome!"

"Thanks, man!"

* * *

While they drove through Paris' relatively quiet streets, Marinette was silent. Adrien couldn't blame her. They arrived at the bakery in no time and walked up the stairs, all of them very exhausted. Marinette's parents asked her to put out two mattresses for the boys and Adrien was quick to agree on helping her.

Nino and Adrien both managed to carry one mattress so it was on Marinette to open her hatch and guide them where to lay the mattresses. In an unobserved moment, while Marinette's parents had already gone to bed and Marinette and Nino were busy with the bed sheets Adrien even managed to sneak to the fridge, finding a bit of camembert for Plagg. After preparing everything they fell on their beds, eyes drooping of exhaustion.

"Guys, I dunno 'bout you, but Imma sleep right away."

"I agree, Nino… Goodnight guys!"

Marinette climbed up the ladder, slumping in her bed with a soft sound, making Adrien's heart skipping a beat. He still stood there, looked up at her bed and showed no intention on laying down anytime soon. Nino slipped out of his jeans, showing his boxer shorts and crawled under the bed sheet, laying down. Just because he still had his glasses on and needed to take them off, he noticed Adrien still standing, fully clothed.

"Dude, why you not in bed yet? It's freaking early."

"Uh, oh, yeah-… Sorry. I'll switch off the lights. 'Night, Marinette!", he called, then he walked over to the switch, pressing it, leaving him behind in the dark. He felt Plagg leaving his jacket, flying over to hide at the desk. He was unaware of the red Kwami already waiting for the tiny black cat. Carefully he trotted back to his mattress, getting rid of his jeans and white jacket, leaving him in his boxer shorts and his black shirt, covering himself in the sheets as he laid down.

"Goodnight, Adrien, Nino.", Marinette mumbled.

Adrien smiled at the sound of her voice. Slowly his eyes were getting used to the darkness and he could make out the gallery Marinette's bed was on.

He honestly didn't know why he was acting like that. He was in love with Ladybug – or so he thought. Why was he already forgetting her when Marinette crept in his thoughts? Actually, it scared him a little bit. Was he that easily to impress? Just because she was one of his closer friends he was already falling in-… No!

He. Was in love. With Ladybug.

But then why, _why_ couldn't he think of her, her face, her dark-blue hair…?

He tried to remember her face, her adorable freckles, her sky-blue eyes, her delicate features… But found himself not being able to! He almost felt tears of frustration welling up in his eyes as only the colors of her suit, her hair and her eyes appeared.

Slowly he shook his head, trying to recall her voice, strong of confidence and determination.

Nothing.

Maybe he was angry at her just vanishing as Alya laid on the floor, unconscious, in danger of dying. Maybe he thought, it was her duty as a superhero to care for Alya, the first victim they ever had. Although he left as soon as he could too, for turning back to Adrien. Maybe she wanted to be her civilized self too, caring for other students, or she had something to do, or-…

A violently weeping Marinette cut through his thoughts once again. She had looked so helpless as he had called the ambulance. She and Nino both.

Adrien sighed quietly, already hearing Nino fast asleep. He thanked Marinette's parents for not letting them go to school the next day. They really couldn't, not only from exhaustion alone, but he also felt like he could concentrate on nothing but Alya's well-being and his irritating thoughts of Ladybug and Marinette.

Shaking his head once again he turned to one side and tried to sleep, only to find he couldn't bring himself to now. He was wide awake and couldn't do anything about it.

Adrien was so lost in his thoughts he almost didn't hear a quiet sob echoing through the room. Perking up he heard another one, quieter, choked.

Marinette.

He had the choice now. Trying to comfort her or leaving her be.

A row of sobs followed and he decided he had heard enough. Quietly he stood up, making sure he wouldn't wake Nino, and grabbed the ladder leading up to her bed.

"Marinette?", he muttered, "Marinette, can I come up?"

The sobs were forced to be silent.

"A-Adrien? You're still awake?"

"I couldn't sleep. Can I please come up?"

The girl gulped, then he heard her shifting.

"O-okay-…"

Adrien didn't need another invitation. Quickly he climbed up and crawled to her, laying down next to her. She lifted the sheets and he welcomed the warmth beneath, quickly slipping beneath them next to the smaller girl. He opened his arms and she scooted over, laying her head on his chest as he closed his arms around her, embracing her tightly. With one hand on his chest at her chin and her other hand wrapped around him, resting on his back, she finally allowed herself to cry openly.

Adrien held her tightly as she began to shiver because of her mental breakdown. She couldn't take anything anymore, he knew it. So, he let her sob silently against his shirt, hoping the thin fabric would be enough to dry her tears.

After endless minutes, it must've been half an hour by now, she held her breath, trying to calm herself. Gently he stroked her now opened hair, pulling her closer towards him.

"Wow.", he breathed, "Your feet are _freezing_. How do you survive like this?"

Marinette chuckled under tears, rubbing her forehead against his chest.

"They're always cold. I got used to it."

He shook his head, her hair tickling his neck while doing so.

"C'mere, I'll keep you warm."

He took her feet between his lower legs, snuggling up against her even more. He could feel her blushing against him, her face growing warm.

"Hey, it's alright. It's just me."

" _J-Just_ you?"

"Well, yeah. Just Adrien. At least here I am. Here I don't need to be Mr. Agreste Jr., a model with a face everyone recognizes immediately."

She smiled against him, running her hand up and down his back.

"I h-happen to like 'just Adrien'.", she whispered, almost choking on her own voice. He smiled and sighed.

"Thank you. You would be the second, after Nino."

Marinette snickered.

"Right, can't count Chloé."

He laughed at that and nudged her head with his chin. She laughed too but they tried to keep it quiet so they wouldn't wake Nino. Suddenly, Marinette shifted and leaned away a bit to look in his eyes. He lowered his gaze and saw her silhouette against the moonlight that was gently caressing her cheek from behind. Marinette smiled, he could see that, but her eyes completely vanished in the smooth dark.

"Your eyes are glowing.", she noted. He laughed again.

"And your eyes are hidden. All I can see is your cheek, being ignited by the moon."

She held her breath, as he did, when he brought a hand up to her face, following the thin, soft line of light on her face with his fingers. He noticed how smooth her skin was as he ran his fingers up her chin across her cheek, finishing his way by tucking a loose stray of hair behind her ear.

She inhaled sharply, breaking away from his eyes but he let his fingers return from behind her ear to her chin, lifting her gaze again. He smiled, being well aware that she could see it, since his face was lit up by the moonlight while hers was lying in the shadows. Gently, he pulled her closer, guiding her chin towards him.

Her eyes fluttered and shut as she leaned in.

Adrien knew, a part of him didn't want to look, the part that admired Ladybug. Chat.

But this here, this was Adrien. He who had fallen for this girl during the time of a few hours. He who had managed to forget Ladybug that easily.

It worried him, of course. It's been almost two years now since he became Chat Noir, since he'd met Ladybug. But he had fallen for her just as quickly. Apparently, he was a sudden one when it came to falling in love.

He closed his eyes too, feeling absolutely certain about doing this. As he felt her lips right before his he felt a floating feeling in his stomach, making him feel light and careless.

Gently he brushed against her half open mouth, as if he was asking for her permission.

Almost shyly she pressed her lips to his, trembling under his touch. He slowly moved his lips, now growing confidence in doing so. She adapted his lead and started to move too.

Adrien felt Marinette's hand in his hair, ruffling through it like she had done right before falling asleep on his lap. In return he pressed against her lips, guiding her to lay down on the bed while following, adjusting himself above her, still kissing her. Their movements became softer, more passionate.

She had now both hands in his hair and pulled him closer to her, even closer. He was doing the same with her shoulders, holding himself up with his elbows.

As they parted breathlessly and felt the hot breath of one another brushing against their chins, Adrien couldn't help but sigh dreamily.

He assumed that this was her first real kiss, as it was his.

Freshly kissed looked good on her, he noticed.

As she lay beneath him, with her eyes being half closed, her hand on his neck and shoulders, panting through her swollen lips, he wanted nothing more than kiss her again.

He wanted to kiss her until she was panting loudly because he had stolen her breath away completely.

He wanted to kiss himself stupid and to the point he was nothing more than a puddle.

She saw his look, saw his own swollen lips and didn't even need to think about it.

The bluenette pulled him down to her once again, kissing away all his doubts and worries until he felt her knees shaking against his legs.

Adrien pulled away once again after the second kiss, looking down at the girl who was suddenly blushing in a shade of deep red.

"Adrien-…", she murmured, bringing her hands to her own chest, "I-… Didn't… And I-… Because of Alya-…"

"You're confused?"

She nodded and he instantly felt guilty.

"I am so sorry!", he quickly whispered, blushing furiously himself, "I shouldn't have-… I mean-… Now it feels like I have taken advantage on you… And in your situation… I am so very sorry, I-…"

She shook her head, stopping his bragging efficiently.

"No it's-… It's alright, I just-… I'm s-so very confused r-right now, so-…"

He understood.

"Oh, yeah, of course.", quickly he removed himself from above her and sat upright next to her, "You want t-to sleep, right?"

She looked away, looking completely unsure of herself.

"I'm… I mean how could I? But it would be the best if you'd-… Not that I don't want you to-…"

"No, it's alright, I-I'm pretty tired myself. Uhm-… Just-…"

"Y-Yeah?"

"How about we t-tell nobody for now and don't make this awkward between us tomorrow?"

She smiled, letting him know that she wasn't up for it either.

"Let's just relax and try not to think about it, a-alright?"

He nodded, feeling rather exhausted.

"S-So, you're feeling good enough so that I can leave you up here?"

He almost felt her blushing in an even darker shade of red.

"Yeah-… Of course."

"Goodnight Marinette.", he breathed as he crawled to the ladder, climbing down from the gallery.

"Goodnight, Adrien.", he heard her mumbling, sounding almost asleep.

That made him smile, as much as he tried to fight against it, constantly reminding him of Ladybug to not go insane and just race up there again, kissing her until he forgot his own name, because _oh hell,_ how he wanted to.

Adrien didn't sleep much that night.


	3. Chapter 3

It's... Supposed to be a reveal  
Yeah  
Don't judge me, I was still very fresh into the fandom. As in August 2k16 fresh. As in joined the fandom shortly after Princess Fragrance. Even before Origins.  
Right after Origins I wrote this thing sooooooooo  
Don't judge xD  
Enjoy instead~

* * *

The next morning Adrien awoke with a startle. He had had a terrible nightmare.

Ladybug had been terribly injured by an akumatized villain named Moonhowler and then suddenly it was Marinette who was hurt and a Ladybug who was unfamiliar but also strangely familiar had taken care of her… All because he hadn't been there! He didn't know why… He just knew, he had been floating over the action and had only been able to watch, as it always had been in a dream.

Terrified, he shook his head and rested his elbows on his propped-up knees, trying to get the image of Ladybug or Marinette being injured out of his head.

Trying to keep quiet he listened if he could hear Marinette breathing, indicating she was alive.

He sighed in relief as he heard her doing just that, sleeping peacefully.

Smiling he looked over to Nino who was still sleeping too. A nearby clock told him it was too freaking early to even think about being awake after such a night. He had slept about three hours since he had kissed Marinette, with now being six in the morning.

Dead-tired he freed his legs from the bed-sheets, standing up slowly, rubbing his eyes. Maybe Marinette's parents were awake already, with running a bakery and all. He quickly put on his jeans and his white jacket, making sure Plagg was still sleeping in the hiding spot they had agreed on before. Opening the hatch, he climbed down the stairs leading to the flat of the Dupain-Cheng household.

He already heard noises in the bakery so he closed the hatch behind him, to not wake Marinette or Nino. Adrien followed the scents down to the bakery.

He heard muffled clattering of baking tins and conversations of Marinette's parents. He knew, the bakery would open in half an hour, so they were probably busy baking the goods for the day. Or at least, half the day, after all the bakery was well visited. He had been there once, before school, but almost everything had already been sold out. However, in lunch break they had opened again, bracing themselves for the horde of students wanting to get their lunch in the small bakery which was only over the street from the school.

He smiled as he heard Mr. Dupain's roaring laughter and Mrs. Cheng's slight giggle. Marinette must be very happy to have parents like them. Parents who loved her and supported her where they could… They didn't even try to come up with an excuse to not come to the hospital, because their daughter's best friend was hurt. He never heard them complaining about staying there until two in the morning, although they had to start the day at four o'clock.

Adrien sadly smiled to himself as he made his way down the stairs. He had to keep it a secret to even think about going to the hospital to see Alya.

His father would never approve of him looking after a friend, even if it would be his girlfriend who had been hurt.

He quickly forgot about his father as he stood in the doorway, seeing Marinette's parents happily baking, as it must be every morning. They didn't seem tired in the slightest and he instantly knew why. Two reasons came to his thoughts.

They had fun doing their job and they had each other.

Brightly smiling he leaned on the frame of the door, enjoying the two adults having their fun with a little bit of flour on their faces while baking, jokingly covering one another with a finger full of flour while doing so every now and then.

Eventually Marinette's mother noticed him standing there in the doorway, smiling at them.

"Oh Adrien, I didn't see you standing there!"

Adrien laughed slightly embarrassed, scratching the back of his head.

"Oh, yeah, sorry Mrs. Cheng. I didn't want to observe or scare you, actually…"

"You didn't, my dear, no worries. But-… Did you want to leave already?"

Adrien was uncertain. Did he? But he figured it would be impolite to go while Marinette and Nino were still sleeping, so he shook his head.

"Uh-… No, I just couldn't sleep and didn't want to disturb Marinette and Nino, so I came down here because I heard you already baking here…"

"Do you wanna eat something, lad? You look like you could use some food as pale as you are."

The blonde smiled, nodding happily.

"I would love to, yes!"

Mr. Dupain and Mrs. Cheng were quick to get a plate and a chair, already putting croissants and marmalade on the worktop of the isle in the middle of the bakery, where he could watch them baking the goods for the day. Gratefully he sat down and bit in the still warm croissant.

Sighing dreamily, he dropped his head on the table.

"Dear, are you okay?", Marinette's mother asked worriedly.

He leaned back and stared at them in awe.

"I have never ever eaten such a good croissant! And it's still warm! I'm officially in heaven!"

Marinette's father let out a roaring laugh and let his big hand fall on Adrien's back, throwing him forward again.

"Love to hear that, lad!"

Adrien thanked them again and again for giving him this piece of pure delight, making them smile and look at each other conspiratorially. After he finished his breakfast, he continued to watch them baking. There was a happiness behind it, a burst of joy with every move he couldn't quite explain. The one thing he knew was that Marinette had the same gift, looking just as cheerfully when she was sketching another design or was telling Alya about it.

 _Alya…_ , he thought, _please be fine. I want to see this spark in her eyes again._

"Uh-… Mr. Dupain? Mrs. Cheng? I was wondering if I could, maybe, help a little? It's fine if you don't want me to, because-… Well I am an amateur and-…"

"Oh no, dear! We would love to have a little help! Here, you can wear Marinette's apron and then you can help me knead this dough and form it into buns."

Adrien was more than eager to get Marinette's apron and knit it around him the same way her parents wore them. Blushing, he realized the fabric of the apron had been formed after her body, presumably because she wore it very often. So, on his chest the apron was a little more lose than on his waist. Oblivious to Marinette's parents he inspected the apron closely. Sabine gave him a smirk as she saw him looking down at the bulge in front of his chest, but said nothing. She simply nudged her husband, shaking her head at him to not give Adrien a certain stare.

He rolled his eyes and lifted his eyebrows while Sabine suppressed a laugh simply by pretending to cough. Tom just turned his back to the boy wearing his little daughters apron, trying not to frown.

After all, he liked this boy.

Adrien's gaze quickly shot up as he heard the cough from Marinette's mother, trying not to look guilty as he strolled towards her. As he washed his hands in a nearby sink he fought down a blush and after that turned to Mari's mother.

"So… How can I help?"

Mrs. Cheng pointed to a big dough ball.

"You have to knead this dough until it's fluffy and nice. Then we'll form buns."

Adrien tried not to looked at her as irritated as he felt but failed miserably. She looked up after she parted the dough in two equally large balls and was about to ask why he hadn't started yet. Her mouth formed a knowing 'Ah' as she understood, why he looked at her.

"Have you ever baked before, Adrien?", she asked carefully.

Sheepishly he shook his head and looked down to the floor. Grinning, she put a hand on his shoulder, turning him back to the counter.

"Don't worry! Look and learn, dear, I'll show you. You take the dough and form your hands into fists like this. And then you knead it with your knuckles and put your shoulders into it and a bit of strength and-…"

Quickly, Adrien got the hang of it and was happily kneading the dough. The bluenette showed him how to separate just the right size for buns and showed him how to roll them so they will be fluffy after baking.

Adrien hasn't had this much fun in ages. He enjoyed feeling the soft dough in his fingers, kneading it fluffy and he especially enjoyed the company of Mr. Dupain and Mrs. Cheng. They were constantly wearing a smile with everything they were doing and they never grew tired of instructing him on doing something he didn't know how to do yet.

The blonde began to laugh with them and honestly felt happy, something, he couldn't say quite often.

"Mr. Dupain, I'm finished!", he shook off the flour from his hands and turned, only to see Mr. Dupain laughing.

"Sir, did I do something wrong-…?", he stupidly asked but Mr. Dupain simply shook his head.

"Oh no, lad, just don't be so formal! We are baking together, means, you're welcomed into the family.", he laughed again and held out his in flour covered hand, for Adrien to take it, "I'm Tom. Nice to meet you, Adrien."

Adrien laughed and bowed a little.

"Pleased to meet you, Tom."

He did the same with Marinette's mother and she was introducing herself as Sabine to him. He smiled as she smiled, seeing so much of Marinette in her cheerful face.

She then checked the time, laughing a little as she pulled him with her to the sink.

"It's almost time to open the bakery. Tom will get out the buns from the furnace and then you'll learn how to attend to customers. Well, for starters you'll get the orders into bags and give them to the customers and I'll cashier. Then – if you want to that is – you'll get to cashier too!"

He laughed of excitement and was quick to wash his hands and run into the shop, followed by a laughing Sabine.

"What do we do first?!", he beamed excitedly as he acknowledged he was standing behind the counter to actually attend to customers when he had been a customer his whole life.

"Firstly, we get the rest of the goods in the showcase and then we open the front door. You go help Tom, dear, I'll clean the glasses of the showcases really quick."

Adrien nodded motivated and ran back into the bakery, helping him carrying out the rest of the buns, loafs and baguettes.

As he got back into the shop, Marinette's mother was already opening the door, letting in a few customers who already wanted to get something to eat before their jobs started.

It turned out he was a quick and precise worker, putting the wishes of the customers in the bags, not squishing or dropping anything. Maybe it was because he was determined to not do anything stupid, maybe because he was a natural. Or he had just beginner's luck.

Either way, Marinette's parents were pretty happy with him working this well. Even when Sabine went back to help Tom with something he did a pretty good job cashiering the customers.

An old lady with white hair pulled up in a bun and a simple pink dress was next in line.

He smiled.

"What is your wish?", he politely asked. She nodded and smiled too.

"I'll take three buns and four croissants."

He quickly packed the buns in a bag and the croissants in a second.

"Another wish?", he asked as he laid the bags on the counter.

"What's to be recommended today? Perhaps something sweet?"

He quickly beamed at her and showed her a few cookies he especially liked. She seemed to enjoy speaking with him and because she was the last customer for now he didn't mind.

"I have my little grandchild over for today and she's quite a sweet tooth. And if I tell her such a nice young man suggested these, she'll be even happier." The old lady winked and Adrien laughed.

"Well, if that's so, then perhaps I need to do something special for her.", he grabbed a little box from under the counter, a cookie and an icing bag and beamed at the old lady.

"What's the name of your grandchild?", he asked.

"Her name's Luanne.", she smiled kindly.

Quickly he wrote in curved letters her name, along with a little heart at the edge of the cookie.

The old lady thanked him several times and insisted on paying him 10 euros more for his extra effort. He waved as she left the store, freeing him from counter-duty for now.

"Phew…", he leaned against the counter and ran a hand through his hair. Marinette's apron slipped up and he adjusted it after yawning. Suddenly he stopped in tracks, looking down at the apron. It was still bulging a little in front of his chest, reminding him it was worn very often by a certain sleeping girl upstairs. He smiled as he brought the apron up to his nose, smelling its scent of bakery, sweets, molten butter and just-… _Marinette_. It was a very pleasant scent.

He froze.

This scent of bakery-… He had smelled that before. Just briefly, because somehow, she always managed to push him away. But this one time with Animan, when he had smelled on her as Chat Noir, when he had hugged her and she had let him, there the scent had been.

His eyes widened.

Abruptly he pushed himself away from the counter to progress this information.

"Could it be-…?"

The thoughts in his mind went savage from one second to another. It seemed like a fog had lifted before his eyes as he put together the pieces and noticed the parallels.

This midnight-colored hair, the heavenly blue eyes, the _freaking pigtails_ …

Marinette was Ladybug.

Ladybug was Marinette.

SHE was HER.

The girl he had kissed just today, while feeling he betrayed another in the progress, were the same.

The cute girl sitting behind him in class almost every day, shy and clumsy, absolutely wonderful Marinette was the witty, brave and selfless Ladybug, heroine of Paris, _his lady_?!

He sat down on the floor.

Why hadn't he been able to see that before? He assumed it had something to do with the magic that came with the suits but he had to ask Plagg about this one.

Sabine called from the bakery for him to come and see this, so he quickly picked himself up from the floor and went to see what she wanted to show him.

Inside the bakery, he saw Sabine standing on the counter, holding up a rolling pin. He quickly smiled again, knowing what she was aiming at.

"How about we make a deal, huh?", she grinned.

He nodded, excited at what would come next.

"Well, I suggest you look through our recipes and get ideas of them and then you'll mix a dough and create your very own cookies. I want them to be original and, don't worry-…", he supposed she had seen his face, "They don't have to be masterpieces your first time. Just try to bake something on you own for once, okay?"

He gulped.

"But I can still ask you, right?", she laughed and nodded.

"Feel free to ask Tom or me. I'll be back in the shop. Have fun, Adrien!"

The blonde turned to the counter where Sabine had already laid out the most used items like flour, sugar and milk. He sighed but clapped his hands together and picked up the recipes in front of him. After one look at them he already knew Marinette had written a few of them. He smiled and read through them. Quickly, he had an idea of how cookies were made.

With new confidence, he got to work.

Roughly around half an hour and an estimated amount of _a lot_ questions later, he was finished. Happily smiling he shoved his cookies into the oven and wiped off the sweat on his forehead. Sabine came into the bakery and smiled at him, leaning on the counter.

"Are you finished?"

He nodded proudly. Adrien pointed at the cookies in the oven behind the glass and Marinette's mother looked impressed.

"They look good already. Nicely done, Adrien."

He laughed as he washed his hands once more. Then he got to cleaning up a little.

"Thank you very much, Sabine. I learned from the best."

She nodded and went to help him on cleaning up. After a few moments, Sabine looked through the glass of the oven.

"I think, they're almost ready."

He bounced up and down of joy.


	4. Chapter 4

I know. Just. Bear with 17 year old me.  
The season was still not finished xD  
Enjoy regardless~

* * *

Adrien and Marinette dragged themselves through the front door of the bakery, both exhausted from a long day of emotional and physical strain. They had spent most of the day now sitting by Alyas side, reading through the doctor's reports, trying to cheer Nino and themselves up, hoping their friend would wake as soon as possible.

And it impressed the blonde, how Marinette' parents still were supportive, somehow. They had been awake for most of the night before, had to get out of bed really early, had to work all morning and still, they managed to bring a smile upon the teenagers faces, by cooking something for them, by being there for their daughter and her friends and by just being amazing. Of course, they hadn't been in hospital all day like Adrien and Marinette but still, they had been there for most of the time.

He felt deep respect towards them and was very happy for Marinette to be blessed with these two wonderful people in her life. It must be because of them that Marinette was such a good human being, always helping where she could.

Plus, she was Ladybug. It couldn't get any better, Adrien thought.

After they've had dinner and everyone had helped to wash the dishes, Marinette had called it a night.

"Well, I'm tired. I'm off to bed… Oh, Adrien, you know where to find everything?"

He smiled up at her, nodding.

"Of course, sleep well, pri-… Marinette."

Damn, he had to be more careful. He had to keep both nicknames, princess and lady he had for her as Chat Noir to himself. She couldn't find out just yet.

She climbed up the stairs without a comment so he assumed it had slipped. Internally he sighed of relief.

"Well, Adrien…" Marinette's mother began, "It seemed to me that you really liked being and working in the bakery, hm?"

The blonde nodded again, excitedly.

"Oh yes! I really loved it!"

"So, we were wondering… Maybe you would want to come by more often? Of course, not in the morning and we know of your busy schedule, but when you've got time?"

He thought he had to explode of happiness. Really, he felt his chest raise with the thought. Not only being in the bakery but also being near Marinette.

Adrien almost jumped from his chair and threw his arms around Sabine but he managed to keep seated and instead beamed at them.

"I would _love_ to!"

They talked about the bakery a little while, when suddenly Tom leaned forward a little, raising an eyebrow.

"So, you like Marinette?"

"Oh Tom, you can't just go and ask things like that.", Sabine instantly scolded him. Adrien chuckled, blushing in a deep shade of pink. Tom and Sabine discussed in hushed voices as the boy stood up, hinting a polite bow with his head.

"I'm tired anyways. So, if you'll excuse me, I'll answer that question tomorrow, if it's alright.", he winked in Tom's direction, the older man winking back. Adrien smiled and wished a goodnight to the two of them, slowly walking up the stairs that led up to Marinette's room.

He carefully opened the hatch, not wanting to disturb the girl if she was asleep already. To his surprise, she sat on her desk, still awake.

Adrien stepped into the room, closing the hatch quietly so that she wouldn't be scared but loud enough for her to hear he had entered her room.

"I would've knocked if I'd known that you were still awake.", he sheepishly said, walking up to her chair, peeking over her shoulder. She snickered but continued concentrating on whatever was hid behind her hair, now falling openly over her shoulders.

"What are you doing this late up?", he curiously asked.

She shrugged, finally leaning back and accidently bumping with her head against his stomach, flinching at the touch.

"You were still designing?"

"Yeah, it's-… It's a dress for Alya. She's been asking me to design one for graduation because she's celebrating with her whole family."

Adrien nodded and smiled.

"It looks beautiful.", he whispered. He felt her nod, her hair slightly rubbing on his shirt.

"It'll fit Alya. She's always been the type for this kind of dress."

Adrien turned as she leaned over her sketch again, taking off his white jacket and the black shirt underneath. Suddenly, she caught his attention, how her midnight-colored hair flew down her shoulders, how she moved her arm when she was drawing on the dress, how her feet were crossed and only the tips of one touched the ground. And he just stood there, staring and topless, like an idiot.

He tried to shrug it off and lay down on his bedsheets but he found himself unable to move. His lady, his princess, truly took his breath away.

As she stood up and turned off the lamp on the desk to call it a night he was finally able to break his trance. He quickly looked down to the black shirt he still held in his hands, carelessly throwing it next to his white jacket on the floor by the mattress.

He felt his face heating up as she turned to him and almost jumped at the sight of him. Assumingly because he was shirtless. She attempted to climb the ladder up to her bed but with a few fast steps Adrien was by her side, grabbing her wrist.

"Ahem, Marinette?"

She turned bright red while she was facing him.

"Y-Yeah, Adrien?"

"I-I-…", suddenly, he had lost the ability to speak. As Chat Noir, he always had been able to juggle with words. In front of either Marinette or even Ladybug. And as Adrien he was a lost cause. He found himself drowning in her beautiful bluebell eyes.

"A-Adrien?", she asked, "You a-alright?"

"Haha, yeah, sorry. Just spaced out, uh-… I wanted to-uh-… To what, oh, ah, I wanted to thank you. For letting me stay here, y'know…"

Marinette nodded, smiling warmly at him.

"N-No problem. Nino w-would've done the same but th-there are mattresses in my r-room already, s-so I guess i-it was obvious you sh-should come with m-me, ah, no, well, here, t-to sleep here, I guess."

Adrien tried to thank her again but right about now his brain decided to completely shut down. So, he reduced his thanks to a simple nod. But still, he didn't let go. And it seemed to him that Marinette didn't want to go to sleep as well but didn't want to say something either.

Suddenly he recalled what they did before going to sleep yesterday night, that wonderful kiss they had shared, and _great_ , now he never wanted to go to sleep anymore.

He carefully leaned down, seeing Marinette's eyes flutter.

Almost pleadingly she lifted herself on her tiptoes and his hand sneaked around her waist to support her. His lips brushed over hers and he felt like he had to melt right in front of her because _oh holy mother of god, she was Ladybug and Marinette and he had fallen in love with both of them and-…!_

His brain was overloaded and probably overheated too because of the blush that had spread across his cheeks.

Marinette winded her arms around his shoulders for support and he leaned against the ladder to not completely lose his stance. He knew he was trembling and she felt it as well.

Breathing slightly heavier she leaned away, her lips hovering only millimeters in front of his, her hot breath brushing over his chin.

"I-Is everything a-alright? I-If you don't want to, i-it's fine-…"

He cut her off by yet another kiss, leaning in more to push her back a little, holding her in his arms to show her that he wanted this more than anything, that he wanted to kiss her and swoon over her in front of her so that she would understand how much he loved her and he wanted to-… _Stop._

 _Answer her question first, Agreste._

"I-I'm s-sorry, but it seems I-I'm a l-little nervous-…", he whispered to her lips, almost inaudible. She sighed and tucked his neck in the crook of her arm, pulling him closer to her. He almost tripped but managed to hoist her up in his arms bridal style. Slowly he tumbled towards his mattress on the floor and got down to his knees, laying her down on the soft bedsheets. For one second they parted, looking at each other trying to progress the information that they ended up in the same situation as yesterday. But they also found that neither of them cared.

So, they just locked their lips again, Adrien hovering on his knees and elbows above Marinette who was laying on the sheets. One of her hands ran through his hair again, softly caressing the back of his head. The other still held him captive on his neck, which he found very relaxing.

But as soon as she moved her hips on his knees, he felt something different. It was a tingling sensation in the lower part of his body, like firework that was lit in his stomach and the sparks fell down now.

He smiled against her mouth. Somehow, the blonde managed to break away from the kiss and instead nibbled at her lower lip. She groaned and he felt her hand stiffen in his hair. Passionately he ran the tip of his tongue over her lip, asking for a new way to confess his love to her. As she pressed her lips to his again, slightly parting them, he knew he had her permission.

Adrien used her opened mouth as entrance. As entrance to something completely unexplored by him until now. His tongue quickly found hers, playing with her, beginning a kind of dance. He was completely losing his mind now, knowing this was Marinette, the crush of his life and Ladybug, the love of his life, two in one person, two persons being one.

He tried to say something but she didn't even let him have the breath to do so. His only way to catch up to the dire need of air was in hot breathes between sweet kisses. And honestly, he didn't want to think about saying something just now.

Anything that he had to say to her could wait, because he could feel her wanting to have his body against hers, to exchange kisses until the morning would dawn. He almost suggested that she had waited long for this to happen because of the way she kissed him.

As they parted once again to at least get a few breaths of air, they took the time to inspect each other.

As he had noticed before, freshly kissed was one of his favorite looks on her. Along with happiness, excitement, determination, thrill, tease-… Hell, he loved almost _every_ expression on her face.

Her lips were swollen, red and beautifully curved. Her dark hair laid in a halo against the white sheets. And her blush made her look like an angel who had come down to earth.

"W-Why are you n-nervous?", she had the nerve to ask, not entirely satisfied with the abrupt end of their conversation.

"Because I'm i-in love-…", he managed as he looked down into her blue eyes, now dark with passion. She froze, obviously not prepared on what he had just said.

"W-With-…?"

"You. Well, a-and the other o-one, red, b-black spotted. The other you. Both.", that was it. Now he had spilled it. Now he had just blurted out that she was Ladybug and he knew. She knitted her eyebrows together.

"Y-You know?", she skeptically asked.

He nodded, smiling sheepishly while pressing another kiss to her lips.

"Yeah-… Just f-found out today."

She didn't stop moving her hand in his hair _what nearly killed him_ and her face softened.

"Well then, kitty, where were we?"

Now it was his time to freeze. _What was that?!_

"Wh-Wha-…?!"

She pulled him down for yet another long kiss, only parting because he was not quite concentrated. Eye-rolling she lovingly glanced up to him.

"Well, I called you kitty. I figured it out, as you did."

He took a deep breath and brought one hand up to her eyebrows, relaxing them as he brushed over them. It was a bit distracting but he figured, as a cat everything was a bit distracting. Especially when a certain beautiful, dark-haired girl laid beneath him, shifting a bit, sending shock waves through his body wherever she touched him.

"Wh- When did you? And-… How?", he quietly asked, kissing each of her eyebrows.

"I found out when I k-kissed you last night.", she admitted, blushing a little, "I'm sorry, but I had meant to tell you. You remember Dark Cupid?"

He nodded and she smiled uneasy, worrying him a little.

"Yeah, well, he had you under his spell. And because love conquers hate, I had to-… Kinda-… Kiss you? And then yesterday it felt so familiar to kiss you-… So, I observed and I found a lot of Chat in your hair, your eyes, your movements, the way you sometimes speak..."

Adrien nuzzled her nose with his, grinning.

"As clever as ever, my lady."

"Well, I wasn't completely sure until you almost said 'princess' this evening. I thought I had to die as I closed the hatch, knowing for sure now. And so, I had to stay awake, to, well, talk to you."

"Turns out we did.", he smirked, "After we made out."

"Hey, we didn't _make out_ yet! Anyways, how did you find out?"

He laughed at that, laying down his forehead on her forehead, closing his eyes.

"Your apron. As weird as it sounds, but I think this whole Chat Noir thing, feline hero and so on, really sharpened a few senses of mine. Apparently, sniffing too. It was your, Ladybug's, scent on that apron. And because you wore it very often, it was obvious."

She giggled and made him lock their gazes again.

"My realization was way cooler, admit it.", she quirkily raised an eyebrow. Instead of answering, he just leaned down for another kiss. It led to another kiss. And then another.

And quickly, Marinette's comment was forgotten.

As Adrien felt her lips move against his and knew, he was a goner. 100%.


	5. Epilogue

Yeah, I actually wanted to continue there  
You know, to explore Adrienette a bit more, to make DJWifi come together but...  
The idea of Breeze struck me and I abandoned this one to write Breeze instead xD  
Enjoy~

* * *

Alya clenched her teeth.

She felt pain in her arm and stomach, but it was bearable. What was worse was the numbness in her head that tried to swallow all her thoughts. That tried to pull her into the darkness once again, to get her to sleep again.

She tried to swallow, to get her head clear just a bit. Her eyes still were closed but she didn't mind. Firstly, she wanted to get herself together, to collect her thoughts.

 _What had happened? Where am I? What is going on?_

She understood that she was laying. On a bed, apparently. Maybe it was her bed? She felt the sheets and immediately knew that this was not her bed.

But instead of panicking she tried to calm down and recall what had happened. She remembered Nino screaming after her while that akuma attack happened. And how she ran down the stairs in front of the school.

After that – nothing.

She wondered what had happened. Maybe she had fallen down? Maybe she had been hit by something? How long had she been asleep?

Groaning she opened her eyes and saw a really bright ceiling light. Everything was fuzzy and she closed her eyes again, lightly shaking her head.

"Guys, did you see that?", she heard a hoarse male voice. Suddenly she actually felt someone holding her hand tighter. She realized, someone had held it the whole time.

She heard footsteps and as she opened her eyes, she saw three, no, four blurred faces. Alya barely recognized the facial expressions, if it was worry or happiness, for she could not even identify the persons around her bed.

However, she noticed two dark blue dots.

"M-Mari-…?", she tried in a croaky voice and she heard sobs.

"I am so happy you're awake again!", she felt her best friends hand on her shoulder, hearing tears in her voice. Right next to her was a blonde spot, presumably Adrien. She looked to the other side of the bed and there were two brown spots, of which she assumed the closer one to be her mother.

"Mum-…", she whispered. She wanted to move her hand but that someone wouldn't let go. Her mother brushed one thumb over her cheek, smiling.

"It's alright, sweetie. The doctors are soon to be here, I already called. You'll feel better in a few moments."

She smiled lightly at the calming words. The doctors would-… _The doctors?_

Confused and surprised she tried to lift her head.

"D-Doctors-…?", she slurred, trying to keep her eyes open, "Hos-pital-…?"

"Yes, Alya, you're in the hospital. You've had quite a _blow_."

Marinette punched Adrien and chased him away from the bed. Alya heard someone chuckle and how her best friend scolded him to not joke around. Someone shifted, it was Nino going to the other side of the bed.

"She survived that and you're making a pun?! You are unbelievable.", she hushed him, returning to the bed on Marlena's side, "Sorry for Adrien's behavior."

Alya blinked again and groaned, then she closed her eyes as she felt a warm hand taking hers, it could only be Nino. Adrien still chuckled, she could feel his laughter next to him.

"W-Why-… Miraculous cure…"

Marinette sighed, shrugging.

"We don't know yet why it didn't heal you. We're still on it, Adrien and I spoke to Ladybug and Chat Noir, we'll find out."

"Sweetie, how're you feeling?"

Alya sighed slowly and exhaled, resting for another few moments.

"… I, uh-… It feels dull…"

"These are the painkillers.", Nino now finally spoke up again and she realized she had heard his hoarse voice before. She asked herself what he had done to his voice.

"… Y-Yeah…"

"Kinda ironic how they're called painkillers after something like this…", someone mumbled and she felt Marinette reaching over her to hear a slapping sound, like a hand smacking against a shoulder.

"Chaton, shut up already."

"Sorry, sorry.", Adrien laughed and shifted around the bed to accompany Mari, Alya heard something like a kissing sound as well, "Just wanna lighten the mood."

It stayed silent in the few moments while Alya collected her strength, then she opened her eyes again and got her glasses handed from her mom. Now she saw how close Adrien was to Marinette, how intimate they seemed with each other.

"Excuse me, but…", Alya slurred, blinking a few times, "… What the hell did I miss?"


End file.
